Piano-key



AL F. SCHATZEL.

PIANO KEY.

APPLICTION'FILED SEPT. 20.1918.

Patented Oct. 28, 1919.

SHOW @13 ALBERT F. scHATzEL, or sAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.

PIANoKEY. I

Specification of Lettersratelit. v v

Aipplicationiled September 20, '1918. 4,Seriali No.' 254,939.`

To all whom it may concern.'

Be 1t known that I, ALBERT F. SGHATZEL,

a citizen of the United States, residing at San Diego, in the county ofSan Diego and State of California, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in .Piano- Keys, of -which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to pianos, and more especially to the keysthereof; and the object of the same is to produce a repair part by theuse of which piano men may eliminate much of the rattle which is foundin old pianos.

The invention consists of a metallic sleeve whose wall tapers inthickness from one end to the other, the sleeve intended to be slippedover the balance pin when the felt bushing in the button alongside saidpin becomes worn. Details are set forth below, and attention is drawn tothe drawings. In the latter Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pianokey crossing the rail and sustained by the usual balance pin.

Fig. 2 isan enlarged plan view of the parts at the point of crossing,showing how the felt becomes worn in time, and

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing how the wear is taken up by the use ofmy improvement.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective detail of the sleeve.

In the drawings the letter K designates a key such as employed on anordinary piano, the same having a nger piece F at its front end and abutton B where it crosses the balance rail R. Upstanding from the railat this point is a pin l of metal and round. This pin passes through anappropriate hole in the key, and extends up through a slot in the buttonB which is usually applied to or formed as a part of the top of the keyitself. The hole through the button is elongated to produce a slot, andin the sides of this slot are fastened pieces of felt as indicated at 2and 3, the same constituting a bushing to prevent rattle of parts and toprevent the dislocation of the key from the rail. As the nger piece F isdepressed, the entire key rocks over the rail and the pieces of felt 2and 3 slide alongside the upper'end of the pin 1. In time these piecesbecome worn or compressed as shown in Fig. 2, with the result thatythere is a little lateral motion permitted to the key, eventuallyproducing rattle which lis discernible more particularly in old pianosor those which have been near the heat so that the parts become driedout and shrunken. It is well known to those who 'repair pianos that thisrattle may be obviated by rebushing theopening through the button, andthis is done bywithdrawing the felt and inserting new pieces. However,this cannot be done with ease and despatch at the home of the owner ofthe piano, and the result is that the instrument must be taken to theshop for repair, this of course involving considerable expense anddelay.

It is the purpose of my present invention to avoid such trouble and atthe same time provide a repair part for the piano tuner and repair man,so that he can quickly and effectively overcome the difticulty at thehome of the owner of the instrument. 4This is carried out by providing asleeve or bushing 6 as shown in F ig. 5. The same is by preference asplit metal tube whose wall has some little thickness at its upper endas indicated at 4f; and grows thinner and thinner toward its lower end 5where it runs out in a sharp edge. All the operator has to do in orderto repair a piano whose felt bushings appear as shown in Fig. 2, is toslip one of these sleeves over the pin l as seen in Fig. 3, and press itdown as far as necessary to take up the looseness. In Fig. 4 the sleeveis shown borne clear down onto the rail R, but this of course is aneXtreme case. It will be found that the sleeve will cling rathertenaciously to the pin; in fact, it might be cemented thereon. Whenapplied as shown inFig. 3 and pushed down until the lost motion is takenup, it may be leftJ in the piano. A subsequent repair man may push thesesleeves down a little farther to take up yet additional looseness whichoccurs; or if the sleeves are not cemented or otherwise gripped upon thepins, it is possible they will drop of their own weight due to themovement of parts, and thus constantly take up the lost motion untilthey come to rest as seen in Fig. t. In fine, the principle involved isputting a sleeve over a pin where the parts which move in conjunctionwith said pin become worn. Manifestly this is quicker than to repair orreplace such parts or the pin itself, and it is an operation which isespecially easy in pianos and the like.

Patented oetae, 191.9.

Having thus fully described my invention, same being mounted upon saidpin between 10 what I claim :Ls new and desire to secure by thepackings, for the purpose set forth.

Letters Patent, is In testimony whereof I aiix my signature In a pieno,the combination With the rail, in presence of tWo Witnesses. pin, keyhaving a slot loosely embracing ALBERT F SCHATZEL said pin, and softpackings onthe side Walls of said slot; of a metallic sleeve splitWitnesses:

throughout its length and externally taper- MARY THOMAS, ing from itsupper to its lower ends, the CHESTER EASTMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

